1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains in general to power control for mobile personal computers and wireless communication devices, and more particularly, to an apparatus for disabling and enabling wireless communication devices incorporated within a mobile personal computer and providing a visual verification thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
In the past several years there has been a dramatic increase in the use of both mobile personal computers and wireless communication devices. These trends are likely to continue into the foreseeable future as such wireless communication devices become embedded within the mobile personal computers either through the use of Personal Computer Memory Card Interface Adapter (PCMCIA) cards or through the addition of hardware mounted to a mother board of the computer.
Although mobile personal computers are frequently used onboard aircraft, their use is not allowed at certain times such as during takeoffs or landings. On the other hand, unlike mobile personal computers, United States Federal Aviation Administration regulations forbid the use or activation of wireless communication devices at any time while onboard the aircraft. The absolute ban applies to all wireless communication devices such as cellular phones, two-way pagers, and wireless local area network adapters installed in the mobile personal computer, among others. There exists a need for a mechanism to easily power off wireless communication devices within mobile personal computers and to be able to clearly verify to airline personnel that such wireless communication devices are disabled.
Currently, there is no convenient solution to address these two needs. Users of mobile text modems and two-way pagers, which are typically constructed on type II PCMCIA or type III PCMCIA cards, may be instructed to remove the PCMCIA device while onboard an aircraft. Other devices which are embedded within the hardware of the mobile personal computer require the user to power-up the mobile personal computer and enter a menu to deactivate the wireless communication device. These wireless communication devices, however, momentarily activate when the mobile personal computer is powered-up. Therefore, any user who activates the mobile personal computer equipped with such a wireless communication device while onboard an aircraft is in violation of federal law. Furthermore, there is no method for verifying to airline personnel that the wireless communication device is deactivated.
It would be advantageous, therefore, to devise a method and apparatus for easily disabling a wireless communication device incorporated into a mobile personal computer. It would further be advantageous if such a method and apparatus provided a clear indication when the wireless communication device is disabled.